Sean Penn won't return to work without vaccine agreement

23 July 2021

Sean Penn won't return to work on his new TV series until the entire cast and crew have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Sean Penn

The 'Flag Day' actor-and-director has reportedly refused to resume filming on 'Gaslit' - the Starz limited series he appears in with Julia Roberts - until everyone working on the production has been innoculated against the virus and wants having the jabs to be a mandatory condition of work.

According to Deadline, Sean has offered to facilitate the vaccination effort free of charge through his CORE organisation.

NBCUniversal, the studio making the show, mandated vaccinations in 'Zone A' - which includes the cast and those in close proximity - this week.

An email was sent to cast and crew on Wednesday (21.07.21) informing them that a clinic was available on site to provide free jabs, and it is also offering vaccinations to NBCUniversal and production crews on the upper lot.

The message advised several choices of vaccine were available and the team would return in three weeks to administer a second dose where necessary.

Members of production were asked to present evidence of vaccination to the testing team when they arrive for their next shift on the project.

The 60-year-old actor has a few weeks of filming left and is not believed to have taken a stand out of fear that he and his co-stars will be exposed to the virus, as he has been fully vaccinated.

Instead, he is concerned that the unvaccinated put everyone on the set at risk as a crew member outside of Zone A can still be in proximity of the rest of the team.

Production bosses are said to be "sympathetic" to Sean's request but negotiations are likely to be needed between the studios and unions before a blanket vaccination policy is agreed.

NBCUniversal had been involved with negotiations between major companies and various unions, which led to agreeing vaccination could be mandatory on TV and film productions, but the agreement announced earlier this week stated producers would simply be given the option "to implement mandatory vaccination policies for casts and crew in Zone A on a production-by-production basis.”

Zone A is the most restricted area on set in terms of coronavirus safety protocols because it is where unmasked actors work.

Sean's CORE initiative has spent the last 18 months working with officials in California to make testing available and to help facilitate the vaccination effort.